Small Business SpotlightS

This story began many years ago when my sister Michelle gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Soon after her birth, my sister found out her daughter had profound hearing loss. My sister and her husband were very outdoorsy and made sure that their daughter was along for every adventure. Below is my sister's story:

As a parent with a beautiful, silly 4-year-old daughter, who happens to be Deaf, it has been a challenge to keep track of her hearing aids. From being used as chew toys, to being washed in the shower, we have had our mishaps with them. When she was about 9 months old, we took her on a hike in a backpack carrier and didn't notice until about halfway through the hike that she had pulled out one of her hearing aids and threw it. I was able to locate it the next day after a few gray hairs and a search and rescue effort. That is where the idea for the jelly cord and The Bebop Shop was born...This is where I (Debbie) come in. Michelle came to me and said "Hey, I need some help with these cords I have created. I don't just want to sell a plain clip. Can you sew these little felt pieces that I want to attach to the clips?" Me having no machine embroidery experience said, "Sure." Purchased my first embroidery machine and the rest is history. It took us many years to get to this point. We went from the jelly cord to a paracord and from a plastic clip to a more durable stainless-steel clip.

The story doesn't end here:

In 2016 my sister Michelle was diagnosed with breast cancer. When treatments got to be too much, I took over the day-to-day business of the Bebop Shop. In 2021, Michelle passed away from this horrible disease. The Bebop Shop was so important to my sister, and it is important to me. It is a connection to my sister and my niece, and I will continue to run the Bebop Shop for as long as there is a need.

The Bebop Shop has the best most loyal customers and I appreciate every one of you! 

Our son, who has bilateral cochlear implants, is the inspiration behind Ci Wear. He loves swimming and we were excited when he received his new waterproof cochlear implant processors. As we watched him in the water, we noticed he spent a lot of time attending to his processors and headpieces, instead of playing. We searched for different wearing options and  accessories to minimize the issues he was having.  After extensive research, we developed the Ci Wear shirt. Ci Wear is the only patented shirt designed to secure and help protect cochlear implant processors and other listening devices. Our shirt is designed to add comfort and simplify your experience when wearing your device. Your lifestyle shouldn't be dictated by your hearing device. At Ci Wear our mission is to design comfortable, stylish and functional apparel that empowers the individual. We want you to be able to wear your cochlear implant processor or any mobile listening device while enjoying all your activities. We feel everyone should define their own limits without sacrificing their hearing. We hope Ci Wear provides you the same improved experience during activities as it has given our son 

Hi, my name is Jess, and I’m happy to be able to share my story about my company, DEAFinitelyBold, with you all today.

When my daughter got her Cochlear Implants in 2020, we knew we wanted fun colors for her processors. She was only 3 years old, and we wanted her to grow up loving her devices. Unfortunately, her model didn’t come in any fun colors. We were told to head to Etsy to find some fun skins for her model. However, again, we came up short. There were no options for her Med-El Sonnet 2 processor. So, my mission began. It started by researching and buying hardware, software, and materials to make her something myself. Once I figured that out, I realized we had something amazing to share with the DHH world- a way to build confidence and make devices fun for kids and adults around the world. DEAFinitelyBold was created to share that confidence and acceptance worldwide with other cochlear implant users. Now, in 2024, my shop has almost 13,000 sales and ships skins across the globe every week. Many parents have messaged me to say that my skin sets have helped them encourage their small children to keep their devices on longer and more consistently throughout the day. It has been life-changing to help the Deaf community in this way and to be a part of something larger than myself. I am so grateful to be able to interact with the amazing people that come to my shop and create something special for them. Thank you! 

My daughter was diagnosed with congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) at the age of two. Based on her diagnosis, we were referred to have her hearing tested and found out she had severe hearing loss in one ear. By the age of four, she was totally deaf in that ear.  After doing a lot of research, including information on the risks of poorer academic outcomes in children with single sided deafness, I decided to pursue a Cochlear Implant. I knew it was a long shot, as insurance historically hasn’t covered implants for single sided deafness, but we eventually prevailed and she received her implant. She was implanted at a two processor clinic, so we picked the Cochlear Nucleus 7 and the Kanso 1. Shortly after activation, Cochlear released the Kanso 2, so we were able to swap the Nucleus 7 for the Kanso 2. While we loved the rechargeable battery in the Kanso 2, there were a few things we didn’t like. Namely, it wouldn’t stay on and Cochlear offered no retention support options. It was essentially useless to us. Being that I am not the type who gives up easily, I started down a path to develop a device that would allow my daughter and kids like her to be successful when using an off-ear processor, and my company, CI Retention Solutions, was born. Since that time, we have expanded into all brands and many models or processors and hired an employee, Lauren, who does all customer service. Through the business, we have been able to help many customers, as well as donate to charities and organizations that support kids with hearing loss.  

The Butterfly Pig is a Nurse-Owned company that is revolutionizing pediatric healthcare through educational, interactive, and realistic medical toys. These toys fill a crucial gap in pediatric patient education, equipping healthcare providers with the tools they need to teach children through hands-on interaction and play.

Founder Mary Jenner, RN, BSN, OCN has firsthand experience of the need for these resources not only as a healthcare professional, but also as a mother. During her maternity leave during the pandemic, she started making doll-sized cochlear implants, hearing aids, and g-tubes for some parents she met in a Facebook group. As word got around and demand increased, she invested in 3D printers and taught herself CAD design in order to expand the product offerings. 

Now, only 4 years later, they have over 70 different medical toys available on TheButterflyPig.com and are used in over 80 hospitals worldwide!

Deafmetal USA began as a collaboration between a designer with hearing loss and me- I have been an audiologist for over 20 years and as a younger audiologist, I was always taught and encouraged to promote “tiny/invisible” hearing aids with the idea of hiding them so no one could see that the person had hearing aids. That ALWAYS bothered me that we would be hiding the very thing that allowed a person to be able to hear. The passion of reducing the stigma of hearing  loss has always been present in my audiology career. The partnership with a Finnish jewelry designer who herself wears Deafmetal jewelry seemed natural for me. We designed a collection back in 2019 and I began promoting it to audiologists and patients/ customers.

What is Deafmetal USA jewelry? It is a jewelry brand that provides jewelry and retention pieces for people who wear hearing aids and Cochlear Implants. These stylish pieces not only provide extra retention (keeping them securely attached at the ear) but they also add style and unique personality. Instead of viewing hearing devices as something to hide, I want to empower people to embrace them as an integral part of their self expression. Hopefully, Deafmetals can play a part in normalizing cochlear implants while promoting self assurance and confidence. By combining fashion with function, I hope Deafmetal is able to share pieces that celebrate Individuality and support the cochlear implant community. 

Deafmetal USA has different "fasteners" that connect our jewelry to the different cochlear implant models. Simply choose a fastener, and then choose your jewelry. We have retention cuffs, chains, earrings , we even have cochlear implant stickers. You can see our designs on our website below.